This was Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's long-cherished wish, but unfortunately it had never been realized. Over the years, she had gone through so much trouble that she had even given up on her idea. But now it has suddenly come true.
Having revealed this big secret, Yunyi left without a trace. She had nothing to talk about with Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang; her appearance tonight was merely to ensure her son's successful ascension to the throne.
Having learned this long-hidden secret, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang changed her attitude the next day when she went to the Qianqing Palace, and began to support the Third Prince's ascension to the throne.
The reason was quite simple: the Third Prince had contracted smallpox, so this terrible disease would no longer pose a threat to him. However, the Second Prince, Fuquan, was different; he had never contracted smallpox, so he would be in great danger in the future.
With his mother's support, Shunzhi was able to issue his decree. He wrote the imperial edict of succession in advance and entrusted it to his ministers for safekeeping, so that once he passed away, he would support the third prince to ascend the throne.
The day after Shunzhi's imperial edict was written, Sumalagu reported to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang with evidence.
Tong Yurou knew nothing at all, and she was completely bewildered when faced with the Empress Dowager's questioning.
But Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang didn't care about all that; the evidence in her hands proved the woman's guilt.
Furthermore, since Xuan Ye was not her son, for the sake of the future political situation, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang did not care whether the evidence was true or false, and Tong Shi could not be allowed to live.
At the end of the seventeenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign, the Third Prince's birth mother, Consort Tong, succumbed to a sudden illness and passed away.
The New Year came not long after Tong Yurou's death, and her passing did not cause any stir.
After the New Year, Shunzhi's condition worsened, and he finally reached the end of his life.
On that day, Emperor Shunzhi met with his ministers and, in front of everyone, opened the imperial edict, confirming the status of the Third Prince, Xuan Ye, as the heir apparent.
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